Micro Workout: Health Benefits and How to Do it

Micro workouts last under ten minutes and are ideal for people with busy schedules. (Image via Pexels/ Elina Fairytale)
Micro workouts last under ten minutes and are ideal for people with busy schedules. (Image via Pexels/ Elina Fairytale)

Micro workouts last under ten minutes and are ideal for people with busy schedules. It is a type of exercise that consists of quick, 10-minute full-body micro workouts. If you want to exercise outside, start by performing quick sets of push-ups, squats, planks, and jumping jacks. Alternatively, you can move between brief bursts of sprinting and walking.

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Moreover, while your schedule might not permit a 90-minute roundtrip to the gym, you can strength train occasionally during the day. For instance, if you are using a microwave to reheat food, you can perform calf raises while you wait for the timer to beep.

Similarly, committing to this type of workouts means you can perform lunges, push-ups, and pull-ups quickly if there are 15 minutes left until your next Zoom meeting. These little workouts might not appear to be enough for the body, but over time, the consequences add up.


Benefits of Micro Workout

Micro workouts are becoming increasingly popular and are recommended by both research as well as fitness enthusiasts and trainers. They are ideal for people who have busy lifestyles with busy schedules and want to exercise in parks, yards, or at home.

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Here’s a list of the benefits offered by micro workouts:

1) No Long-Lasting Injuries

After a micro workout, you shouldn't have to worry about experiencing persistent discomfort. In fact, the likelihood of harm is considerably reduced. While with more rigorous workouts, recovery can frequently be difficult, micro workouts don't pose that risk.


2) Full-Body Workout

Another factor that makes micro-workouts great is the fact that making small changes here and there in your routine can have a significant impact on your health.

You might initially think it's insignificant and wonder if these tiny efforts will ever provide any noticeable results. However, you will soon discover that your efforts can build up over time, and research has demonstrated that even brief exercise sessions can have striking consequences for metabolic health.


3) Helps Burn Fat

Your body experiences an oxygen deficit during demanding workouts like HIIT, cardio, or plyometrics, which can leave you exhausted and out of breath. A higher supply of oxygen is required to return your body to its pre-exercise state at this stage, which is referred to as recovery mode.

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Your body puts in a lot of effort to rebuild muscle fibers and tissue throughout the recovery phase. However, optimal recovery is not achievable without the right quantity of oxygen and fuel.


4) Faster Weight Loss

If your objective is to lose weight, this higher calorie burn is advantageous for you. Despite the briefness of these workouts, numerous studies have shown that interval training is an efficient way to reduce visceral, abdominal, and overall body fat.

This finding is especially important because visceral fat build-up can result in a variety of health issues, including an elevated risk for diabetes and heart disease. Visceral fat also lines our internal organs and is located behind the abdominal wall.


5) Flexible Schedule

The ability to exercise whenever, whenever, or however is what we mean by flexibility—not just in the physical sense. Jump jacks are something you can do in the living room, and you can keep your legs in shape by performing some rapid pulse squats.

While performing the micro workout is a terrific way to add a little more to your day, it shouldn't be your only form of exercise.

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How to Do Micro Workout

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) exercises are some of the most popular forms of micro workouts. A HIIT session typically consists of a number of small sessions done in succession. For every two seconds of vigorous exercise, there is one second of rest, according to the 2:1 exercise-to-rest ratio.

As long as you can perform an exercise swiftly and aggressively, you can include it in your workout plan. Get off the couch and perform these exercises:

  • Jumping jacks
  • Squats
  • Jogging in place
  • Push-ups
  • Planks
  • Burpees
  • Jump squats
  • Cool down stretch

This routine will keep you moving and help you burn calories. It should take eight to ten minutes to complete, and almost any workout you can think of can be used in variation for it.


Conclusion

It seems that while different fitness levels require different micro workouts to match a person's capabilities, the variation appears to be in the effort put forward at each level. The human body responds adaptively to anything that involves effort, and the body's capacity is improved by adaptive responses.

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